At-home medication administration in patients with multiple chronic conditions, especially the elderly, is a process fraught with potential disasters. Certain health conditions may require a patient to take as many as 30-40 doses per day of various medications. Furthermore, there may dozens of prior historical medicines in every room of the house. Some patients may be confused by the different current and prior medicines and refrain from taking any of them for fear of taking the wrong medicine, taking the medicine at the wrong time, or both. Other patients are at risk for overmedicating themselves by taking the old or even the new medicines without regard to proper dosage and timing. The inability to adhere to a strict medication regime can result in patients under- or overmedicating themselves and in additional health concerns that must be addressed.
One reason medicines accumulate in a patient's home is that new medications may be started every time the patient is discharged from a hospital or other medical facility. In some instances, not only are new medications started, the dosing schedule of prior medications may change. New medications may be prescribed and started without regard to the fact the patient may not have finished prior fills of the same or similar medications. In some instances, prior medications may no longer be appropriate for the patient's current condition. For patients that have more than one in-patient care episode a year, the number of unfinished fills may be substantial. For health benefits providers that offer benefits to a large number of elderly or chronically ill patients, costs of care for members that are on numerous medications may also be substantial. Some studies indicate that up to 800 per 1000 members with congestive heart failure are readmitted every year for that disease alone. Many of these readmissions may be reduced with proper medication administration.
Although elderly and chronically ill patients may obtain substantial benefits from staying in their own homes as long as possible, remaining at home may not be an option if the patient is unable to adhere to a medication regime. Continuous monitoring at home of 30-40 doses per day is often logistically impossible, even with family or other caretaker support. Even if a caretaker is sent periodically to assist the patient, it is impossible to know what the patient may have taken when no one was present. Therefore, there is a need for an automated prescription dispensing system and method for controlling a prescription dispenser that is located at home to assist chronically ill and elderly patients with medication administration.